James Potter's Gourmet Restaurant
by uncontained hybrid
Summary: Stuck in the house, James has to get inventive with the plans for his and Lily's wedding anniversary.


_For Sophy._

* * *

Lily rolled over and pulled her pillow over her head. "Remind me again why I decided to have a child with someone is decidedly not a morning person?"

"That's a beautiful thing to say on our wedding anniversary, Lils. I really appreciate the sentiment."

Lily just yawned and swatted her husband on the shoulder as he got up to calm their crying child.

James walked back into the master bedroom, with Harry safe and content in his father's arms. "Are you feeling better today?"

Lily rubbed her hands over her face and sighed. "Not really. Still feel like I've been run over by a lorry."

James cuddled Harry and looked at him sternly. "Young man, how dare you make your mother get sick."

Harry just smiled and waved his fist in the air.

James sighed. "Do you think he'll ever listen?"

Lily smiled. "With you as his father, definitely not."

James eyes' lit up for a second. "Can we pretend we're teenagers again, and sneak out for dinner tonight?"

Lily shook her head sadly. "Dumbledore still has your Invisibility Cloak, remember."

James chewed on his bottom lip for a second, thinking. "Just rest for today, yeah? I'm sure we can find something to do tonight."

"That sounds lovely," Lily smiled.

Downstairs, James sat Harry down in his high-chair for breakfast. He absent-mindedly fed the tiny pieces of fruit to his son, wishing that he could do something that would be really special for his and Lily's anniversary. "Stupid You-Know-Who," he muttered, his words echoed by some babbling from Harry.

Leaning back in his chair for a second, he suddenly had the beginnings of an idea. He smiled to himself. Practically yanking Harry from the high-chair, he put him down on the living room floor with some toys, as he began to plan.

James pulled out a quill and a piece of parchment and scribbled down some ideas. _"__Restaurant__, __Greek food (?), " _

He pulled out his wand and sent a Patronus to Sirius and Remus' apartment, asking them for help with babysitting Harry, and with cleaning the apartment, though the last part may have completely flown over Sirius' head.

* * *

When Sirius and Remus arrived just a few hours later, James and Remus set to work cleaning the apartment, while Sirius watched Harry in another room.

"Just don't tell Lily I let Sirius watch Harry all day long?" grinned James.

"It will come back to bite you on the arse in about ten years' time, anyway," Remus responded cheerfully.

Re-arranging the apartment into something resembling a restaurant and a tiny movie theatre took quite some time, but the two shared a lot of laughs, and quite a few at James' expense when Lily came downstairs, demanding to know what on earth was causing all of the thumping sounds.

James stood at the kitchen counter, drumming his fingers across it as he mulled over what to cook for dinner. Deciding on a simple pasta dish with chocolate cake for dessert, he wrote a shopping list for Sirius and Remus, giving himself and Lily a chance to eat lunch with Harry in the small upstairs dining area.

After their late lunch, it was back to work for James, preparing food in the kitchen while trying to decide what movie to watch.

Upstairs, Lily smiled over the invitation James had so proudly presented to her at lunch.

"_Dear Mrs. Potter,"_ it read. _"Please be so kind to join your esteemed husband in the downstairs dining room for a lovely meal, to be finished with a movie, in celebration of our second wedding anniversary."_

Lily stepped out of the shower, shaking out the water from her long, red hair. She pulled on a green evening dress and began putting on the jewellery she had received from the Potter vault shortly before the marriage. The matching necklace and earrings were the very same ones she had worn on their wedding day, exactly two years before.

James knocked on the door to the master bedroom. "Come in," Lily smiled, pulling the door open with a large amount of grace and ceremony. James extended an arm to her.

"Are you ready for dinner?" he asked, eyes twinkling.

"I think I am. Let me just grab my purse – wouldn't want to dine and dash, now, would we?"

"Certainly not." James agreed.

Slowly, the two made their way down the stairs, arms hooked together, each thinking of the way they had entered the reception hall for their wedding.

James pulled out Lily's seat, graciously allowing her to sit down.

Lily frowned for a moment.

"Is there something wrong, madam?" James asked, raising one eyebrow.

"Don't we have a son?" Lily asked. "About yay big, messy hair..."

James chuckled. "I've given him dinner and a bath and put him to bed."

"Well then, what are we waiting for? Care to tell me what's on the menu tonight?"

"For the entree, we have a grilled beetroot salad, followed by a dish of spaghetti bolognaise, with chocolate cake for dessert."

The two laughed and reminisced together, happiness and nostalgia enveloping the couple.

"I have to say James, you've really outdone yourself this time. Gourmet restaurant, what's next?"

"Just a movie. I believe you've heard of Grease?"

"Mmm, I think I have. I do have a question for you."

"And what would that be?"

"How are you going to top this next year?"

"Next year, we'll get to go to a real restaurant. But I think next year is your turn to prepare the surprise."

Lily raised an eyebrow. "Oh, I've got a surprise for you. It's an extra dessert course, if you catch what I mean."

James inhaled sharply. "Would it be terrible if we skipped the movie?"

Lily's laugh rang out loud and clear. "Oh, I'm sure we can catch a later session."

* * *

Written for QL. Beater 2, Puddlemere, using the prompts restaurant and beginning.


End file.
